A new slate roof at 75

At a ceremony on November 20, Superintendent Dr. Nancy Hackett handed out heavy pieces of slate of the type used to repair the roof at the Jeffersonville School. Among those honored with their very own bit of history were former superintendent Dr. Ken Hilton and the first superintendent of the Sullivan West Central School District, Mike Johndrow.

The ceremony marked the 75th anniversary of the historic building and also completion of restoration of the slate roof, which was the subject of attention from the school board for several years.

In 2009, the school board thought the 75-year-old roof would have to be replaced entirely at a cost of some $4 million, but further study showed that roof could be fixed more economically, retaining many of the existing slate tiles.

The low bid for the work came in at $1.7 million from the West Babylon-based Milcon Construction Corporation.

Hackett delivered a brief history of the Jeffersonville School District, which merged with the Youngsville School District in 1958, which in turn merged with the Narrowsburg and Delaware Valley districts in 1999 to form Sullivan West.

She said there were several time capsules placed in the building: one dated to the opening of the school in 1938; another dated to the creation of an addition in 1960; and one was created in 1989.

She said the school was creating a time capsule for 2013, which would include, among other things, a flash drive with before and after pictures of the slate roof. She said, “We’re hoping that flash drive technology still exists” when the time capsule is opened.